MATCH PREVIEW V FOREST

Marcus hails miraculous progress of Town under Mick as Blues stand within sight of the Play-Offs

Marcus Evans has written a column for Saturday’s matchday programme, hailing the progress made by Mick and TC as miraculous.

Town go into the game against Forest three points clear of Wolves and Brentford in sixth place with two matches to play.

“Another year of progress doesn’t really do justice to this season’s performance, but we have come to expect so much more from our team week in, week out that it’s worth reminding ourselves of just how far we have moved forward over the last two years,” writes the Club’s owner.

“As for the dynamic duo, Mick and Terry, as we all know they took over two and half years ago with us five points adrift at the bottom of the Championship.

“The fact that we are within sight of the finishing line to reach the Play-Offs in such a short space of time is nothing short of miraculous and a testament to their ability to get the most out of young and experienced players alike.

“Whatever happens over the rest of the season it has been a year of progress. We have more points already than at any time since the Club last qualified for the Play-Offs back in the 2004/05 season.

“We already have seven points more than we did last year, with two games to go. That’s another sign of the progress we have made over the last 12 months and importantly, we have the core of a squad, age wise, that will be with us for a few years to come. That will enable us to continue to build and when opportunities present themselves, to add players.”

Team news

Town: Darren Ambrose, Luke Varney and Kevin Bru are all back in the squad after recovering from injury. Richard Chaplow is unlikely to feature after sustaining a groin problem in training. Jonny Williams has returned to Crystal Palace after having a recurrence of his groin injury, while lengthy absentees Luke Hyam and David McGoldrick are making progress but won’t be in the squad for the weekend. Noel Hunt is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a knee ligament injury and is set to play for the U21s against Cardiff on Monday.

Forest: Andy Reid, Britt Assombalonga and Matty Fryatt are all sidelined for Forest.

Where they currently stand

Town: 6th

Forest: 11th

Played for both

Paul Anderson made more than 100 appearances for Nottingham Forest in a four year spell at the club. He arrived at the City Ground in 2008 on loan from Liverpool and made the move a permanent one a year later. Ando arrived at Portman Road in the summer of 2013 from Bristol City in a swap deal that saw Jay Emmanuel-Thomas move in the other direction. He has played 66 times for Blues, scoring six goals.

Match officials

Referee: Graham Salisbury

Assistants: Darren Blunden, Ian Rathbone

Fourth official: James Adcock

Fancy a flutter

Town are odds-on favourites at 8/13 with the Football League sponsors Sky Bet ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest. The visitors are 9/2 . For more odds, click on www.skybet.com.

Follow the action on Saturday with live commentary of the game available on Ipswich Player from 3.00pm, with live text commentary available via the Ipswich Wall. Highlights of the game will be screened on Ipswich Player over the weekend.

Don’t miss Saturday’s matchday programme for the exclusive column with Marcus Evans, with the owner talking about his highlights of the season, the future of the Academy and investment in the first-team squad, plus more. Tommy Smith, Luke Chambers, Stephen Hunt and Freddie Sears also feature. Also don’t forget to collect the last two FREE sets of stickers to complete your album.